Back Off My TMNT

tmnt-featured

Do you remember what it was like to be a kid? Well apparently the critics out there in the movie world don’t have a clue. I won’t be coy about this, I have been anxiously anticipating the release of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles “reboot” like a kid waits for Christmas. Needless to say, I was there this weekend alongside all the other kiddos in their bandanas and costumes – though my wife didn’t let her 32 year old husband wear his.

Some of you might consider me an idiot for going out and spending my hard earned money to go see something that sites like RT (rotten tomatoes for those in the dark there) deemed rotten at 19%. But I remember what it was like to be a kid. Don’t worry Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – I’ve got your back!

original-tmntI love how they have belts with letters just in case they forget who they are

I can remember being a kid (around 1987/88) and getting a Nintendo for my birthday, which oddly enough, at the time I had no idea what it was. All of my friends did however, and they were all gathered around the TV playing Duck Hunt and Mario. I, on the other hand, was yards away from the television playing with my brand new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures. (don’t be fooled though, I totally played Nintendo for hours upon hours later once I figured out what the heck it was) That’s all my world revolved around at that time. I was completely engrossed into that reality and could probably have told you anything you wanted to know about every last little detail to do with the cartoon. I wasn’t into the comics, or anything like – just the cartoon and collecting all the action figures that I could.

So, what’s the point Lucas? Put yourself into a kid’s shoes for a change and go to a movie as if you’re them. I don’t care if the movie wasn’t specifically targeting the 8 to 10 year old kids out there or not, that’s not important. What’s important, at least to me, is seeing your heroes on the big screen beating up the bad guys and saving the day. For those critics out there saying that the latest TMNT movie was awful – why was it awful? Because it was too much like a Michael Bay film? Good lord how often are we going to hear that? It’s like a broken record that NEVER stops playing. GET OVER IT. What else … it was awful because it didn’t have any good acting? Whose acting was so atrocious that it makes the whole movie awful? Megan Fox? She wasn’t even that bad this time around – I won’t say she was great – but she definitely didn’t ruin the movie. I just wonder if most of the people who reviewed the new TMNT were under the age of 40 and if any of them were, did they have a good childhood?

tmnt-oldAhhhh nostalgia … 

The very first movie of TMNT got a 40% on RT … and yet people are saying that it was “great” and was “so much better than this Michael Bay rip off”. I will say that I think that the sense of family and more emotional elements were stronger in the original. But that doesn’t make the new one a bad movie. I mean if you want me to, I can go and rip apart your cherished memory of the original TMNT movie by pointing out every scene where you can tell the suits they’re in are just rubber costumes and look atrocious. Would you care though? I doubt it because if you were around the ages of 8 to 14 I bet you were absolutely in love with every detail of that movie. I bet you went home and recited all the AWESOME one liners over and over again to your parents. There in lies the key, it’s the magic of what the movie brings to the child in every one, no matter the age.

What’s even better for me now as a parent being in a theater filled with kids (sadly younger than me) was watching them and listening to them react to everything in the movie. I sincerely had that “aha” moment when we were walking out of the theater and this cute kid, who looked to be about the age of 6, looked up at his mom and asked, “why don’t I have big swords like Leonardo?!” That my friends is called adorableness overload. I was grinning from ear to ear listening to him talk to his mom all the way out of the cinema about all the little things that make Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles great.

tmnt-fixA minimal difference makes such a huge impact

The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie was not perfect, nor would I say it was great. There was plenty about it that I would change, but that’s because I would be picky about things that most kids would probably care less about. (per the example above) It was very hard for me to get past the fact that the turtles had lips and nostrils rather than just the beak. But it didn’t ruin the movie for me. The plot was definitely something that we’ve all seen before – mainly from the Amazing Spiderman 1 – but again, that doesn’t ruin the movie for me. I was there to watch Leo argue with Raph, watch Mikey make his funny remarks and act a fool, and watch Donatello provide an obvious solution to what seemed like an impossible situation. The movie delivered on all accounts.

I’ll cut my rant short and just say this – people out there need to learn to lighten up and pay attention to what the ultimate goal is. Will the movie be a cash hog? – probably. Will they make a killing off of merchandise? – probably. Will it be something for lots of kids out there to get pumped up about and want to run around with their plastic weapons and spit out words like “Cowabunga!”? – I sure hope so.

Be a kid – have fun – and lighten up. Go ninja go ninja go!

-hahahaha … I made a funny.

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Hey guys & gals, my name is Lucas Tetrault and if you like this post or any of the others I’ve done – please feel free to venture over to my Blog and take a gander at some other stuff I write about. I promise I don’t intend to waste your time.

I work as a Creative Director and spend time away from my job with my wife and son, writing for Unreality, and trying to be creative with my own personal projects.

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7 Comments

  1. I can’t back off of this movie….because I’m not going anywhere near it!

    I too can make the funnies, sir. I’d argue that all the people who hated it so much probably shouldn’t have gone to see it knowing it was garbage. It looks crummy to me, so I’m not watching it. Problem solved. My son is obsessed with Minecraft and currently doesn’t want to see any movies at all because of it so I will happily dodge that bullet.

  2. Again, I never said the movie was great nor was I meaning to, that wasn’t the point. 🙂

    Kudos on your decision not to see the movie for an actual good reason.

    How old is your son, mine is 2 and loves watching the first live action TMNT with me but hates the animated TMNT. (go figure)

  3. Seems counterproductive to essentially say, “don’t pay attention to the details, don’t over-analyze and nitpick, just enjoy it as if you were a kid!” on a site explicitly dedicated to pop-culture analyzing and nitpicking.

  4. @Indy – I don’t see how it’s counterproductive to nitpick the nitpickers. This site doesn’t have a description anywhere that says we have to be overly critical on everything we post. I think what Nick said above is a great solution. Now, if you’re a critic and you’re paid to go to movies and write reviews about them – then please do a full review and nitpick all you want – that doesn’t mean I can’t still defend the movie for its merits.

    I guess if I’m to abide by what this site is “explicitly dedicated” to, then next week I should write a post about how much I hated Snowpiercer. I’ll make a point to nitpick every last little detail that makes absolutely no logical sense in that movie. Oh and I’ll make sure to comment on the Disney princess posts that they need to be more critical of the artists style and technique. (I kid I kid)

    To each their own I suppose. 🙂 Thanks for commenting all the same! We need more comments and commenters on this site!!

  5. @ Lucas – People act like I’m crazy or insulting them when I say it, but the best solution really is to not go see things you don’t want to see. This crap gets made because people pay to see it. Studios could give a damn about artistic quality a long as the money keeps rolling in.

    My son just turned 8. He loves the Nickelodeon show, watched the original we grew up with on Youtube, and was really looking forward to the movie, but lately he’s been completely consumed by Minecraft. He wouldn’t even go see Guardians of the Galaxy with me.

    Also, when did Disqus go away?

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